Re: Any reviews, comments, etc. about the new book, The Well Trained Mind?? nt (Classical Sources Message Board)

Re: Any reviews, comments, etc. about the new book, The Well Trained Mind?? nt
Author: Carol in CT	August 20, 1999 at 21:18:02
in reply to: Any reviews, comments, etc. about the new book, The Well Trained Mind?? nt* posted by Debby G. on August 19, 1999 at 08:58:12*

I have just finished reading The Well-Trained Mind and
found it to be excellent. Following is an attempt to
summarize various aspects:

The book has a well-thought out, practical, systematic
scheme for approaching the various academic areas. The
authors recommend a notebook system that is just excellent.
They recommend resources (some Christian, some not--the
criteria is excellence, from the authors' point of view)
but don't discuss a lot of options, so it's very focused.
However, they also admit that the curriculum programs they
propose aren't the only programs that produce a classical
education--other curriculum can work just as well.

The book is meant to apply to all homeschoolers who are
interested in a classical education, so the tone is
neutral. There isn't much discussion about a Christian
world view--that is left up to the individual families,
although there is a chapter in each stage of the trivium
that deals with theology. You do learn, though, that they
are Protestant Christians and one of the authors has a
masters of divinity.

The authors are a mother/daughter team--both are educators
and both have homeschooled their children. They credit the
Doug Wilson circle for help in understanding classical
education and do a good job in synthesizing the ideas. The
book's tone is much less lofty and strident than Wilson's
books (at least that is how I find his books) but no less
serious. It is definitely more helpful than the Veritas
Press catalog (as far as laying out a course of study) and
free curriculum guide and I would say a bit more involved
than Laura Berquist's Designing Your Own Classical
Curriculum.

On the whole, the authors propose an intensive reading and
writing program that encompasses all the subject areas
(excluding math). There is extensive use of copying,
dictation, and narration in the first four grades in
literature, science and history. The dictation and
narration practice begins to ease away in 5th grade when
students are expected to compose and write summaries and
outlines in these subject areas. The history studies are
literature based and the science curriculum uses Usborne
and DK books as well as experiment books. The Language Arts
program is pretty traditional with the endorsement of the
Abeka grammar program as the most comprehensive and
workable program for homeschoolers. See the web site for
the Well-Trained Mind to find out what the authors think
about Shurley Grammar and other programs such as Winston
Grammar.

This book has answered alot of questions that I had about
ce and its implementation and I intend to implement as much
of their curriculum plan as I can (I hope my children
cooperate!). I wish it had been around a couple of years
ago--I would have made some different decisions about our
homeschool program. It's a great read and a must for anyone
serious about classical education.

Carol in CT

Follow Ups

Where is the Well-Trained Mind website? Gina 21:02:36 8/25/1999 (1)
- Re: Where is the Well-Trained Mind website? kerry 21:52:06 8/26/1999 (0)

Post Followup

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Subject:
> I have just finished reading The Well-Trained Mind and > found it to be excellent. Following is an attempt to > summarize various aspects: > > The book has a well-thought out, practical, systematic > scheme for approaching the various academic areas. The > authors recommend a notebook system that is just excellent. > They recommend resources (some Christian, some not--the > criteria is excellence, from the authors' point of view) > but don't discuss a lot of options, so it's very focused. > However, they also admit that the curriculum programs they > propose aren't the only programs that produce a classical > education--other curriculum can work just as well. > > The book is meant to apply to all homeschoolers who are > interested in a classical education, so the tone is > neutral. There isn't much discussion about a Christian > world view--that is left up to the individual families, > although there is a chapter in each stage of the trivium > that deals with theology. You do learn, though, that they > are Protestant Christians and one of the authors has a > masters of divinity. > > The authors are a mother/daughter team--both are educators > and both have homeschooled their children. They credit the > Doug Wilson circle for help in understanding classical > education and do a good job in synthesizing the ideas. The > book's tone is much less lofty and strident than Wilson's > books (at least that is how I find his books) but no less > serious. It is definitely more helpful than the Veritas > Press catalog (as far as laying out a course of study) and > free curriculum guide and I would say a bit more involved > than Laura Berquist's Designing Your Own Classical > Curriculum. > > On the whole, the authors propose an intensive reading and > writing program that encompasses all the subject areas > (excluding math). There is extensive use of copying, > dictation, and narration in the first four grades in > literature, science and history. The dictation and > narration practice begins to ease away in 5th grade when > students are expected to compose and write summaries and > outlines in these subject areas. The history studies are > literature based and the science curriculum uses Usborne > and DK books as well as experiment books. The Language Arts > program is pretty traditional with the endorsement of the > Abeka grammar program as the most comprehensive and > workable program for homeschoolers. See the web site for > the Well-Trained Mind to find out what the authors think > about Shurley Grammar and other programs such as Winston > Grammar. > > This book has answered alot of questions that I had about > ce and its implementation and I intend to implement as much > of their curriculum plan as I can (I hope my children > cooperate!). I wish it had been around a couple of years > ago--I would have made some different decisions about our > homeschool program. It's a great read and a must for anyone > serious about classical education. > > Carol in CT
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